Friday 27 September 2013

Have You Seen This One?

youth in jeans with fingers crossed behind his back
© Pavel Siamionau Dreamstime.com

I was browsing a great youth ministry website today, and I found this:  http://fervr.net/bible/8-ways-to-stop-going-to-church-without-anyone-noticing

It's well written, and I can tell you, they aren't making it up!

S0me of the comments after is are pretty funny too - some people didn't realise that the article is tongue-in-cheek - they aren't telling us what they think we SHOULD do, they're telling us what, very sadly, lots of people DO do. 

Question for you:  what do YOU reckon are the main reasons people don't come to church?  I don't mean people who don't believe in Jesus, and don't already belong to a church;  I mean people who do believe in Jesus, and want to follow him, and belong to a church.  What do you reckon are the main reasons that people just don't show up?

Post your answers here - the first TWO people who post a comment on this blog will get a movie ticket!!  (for Warragul cinema, of course!)

Friday 6 September 2013

Download and Print Consent forms for Youth Outings!

© Sallyeva | Dreamstime.com
This one is for parents and other responsible adults!

We're all snowed under by paperwork, so I'm trying to streamline things a bit:

You can now download the Contact Info & Medical Advice Form by clicking the link at the right of this post.  I only need you to fill that out once per youth per year, unless details change during the year; I'll keep it in a file so that I know if there are any allergy issues etc for your youth/s, and have your contact info available in case of emergency during any outing.

Then there's a separate Consent form for each outing, in two parts:

The top half is for you to tear off and keep, it tells you what the outing is, and provides times, addresses, RSVP info, and how you can get in touch with the leaders during the event.

The bottom half is for me, it's where you consent to your youth/s attending the specific outing.  I need that back from you, signed, for each youth, before we head off for the outing. It will be filed for posterity at WAC - in case there should be an audit or question in the future.

The forms for our next outing are ready for you to download, print off, and fill in - all ready for 15th September!

This month's outing - Skating/Skooting at Moe!

Turns out that 'Bounce' is SOOOOOO popular that you have to book a couple of months ahead.  So I've paid a deposit for us to go there for our October outing.  More about that soon!

But that meant we needed a new plan for our end-of-term September outing!  So... This month's event will be skating/skooting in Moe, NEXT SUNDAY 15th September.  Not everyone loves skating (don't understand that myself, but each to his or her own!) - but that's OK because apparently there's also a skooting rink, with ramps and stuff - and you can hire a skooter $4 or ripstik $5 to use there.  Do I confess?  I'd never heard of a ripstik...


Teen jumping with a ripstik against white background
I borrowed this pic. of someone riding a ripstik from a website - click to visit

What do you need to know? 

Drop off @ Church 1.00pm, Pick up @ Church 4.30pm, Sunday 15th September. 
What to bring: $15 to be on the safe side.  Covers entry, equipment hire, and snack.  But there should be a little bit of change!  
What to wear: Comfortable stretchy clothes that you don't mind being upside down in!
Can you bring friends?  Of course!  Just let me know who's coming, and they'll need permission forms filled in by their parents.
RSVP:  I need to know how many people are coming, so I can make sure we've got enough drivers and adult supervisors.  So please let me know whether you are COMING or NOT COMING, by MIDNIGHT ON SATURDAY 13th PLEASE!

ALSO:  Alison can't make it this time, so I'm looking for a driver, preferably with a Working With Children Check.  Suggestions?